At What Cost? A Hunger Games story
by Omy1234
Summary: Maury Abigail, a seventeen year old girl from district ten, volunteers for the Hunger Games in order to accomplish what seemed to be an unrealistic and deadly goal, to win the games for her sisters and lead a happier life, but...at what cost?
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

_I laid there, motionless and paralyzed next to the silver, gleaming cornucopia, the bright white snow tickled the exposed parts of my skin. I stared into the emotionless, gray sky, as cloudless and depressing as ever. I forced my hand to slowly drag itself up my stomach, right as it made contact with the wound, an unpleasant, revolting squishing sound echoed into my ears._

_The white snow got stained a crimson red, I was ready, I was more than ready to leave that hellhole, that nightmarish and deadly arena._

_I was the only one left after all, there was no point in struggling, I had already caused that pain to myself by volunteering, and it was safe to say that that was the biggest regret of my life. I wasn't in my right mind, was I?_

_I closed my eyes, sucking myself into the darkness as I took my last, dying breath. _

—

"Maury!" I felt small, soft hands touching my body, pushing me gently "Maury! Wake up!" I slowly scrolled my eyes open, looking around to the source of the sound. I turned to my right, and almost instantly jumped as I saw my little sister, Carmen, kneeling down beside my bed, her brown, puppy eyes staring into mine.

"I'm hungry…" she said, putting that extremely annoying pouty face of hers. I rolled my eyes as I pulled away my old, tattered bedsheets "What do you want for breakfast?" I asked, sighing beforehand "Eggs! Eggs eggs eggs!" She started jumping up and down in excitement, I couldn't help but smile "fine, let me check if there are any left".

I stepped out of the bed and walked towards my bedroom door, the floorboards creaking under my feet. I twisted the handle, and with a bit of effort, I got it's rusty self unstuck.

I watched as Carmen ran from beside me and down the stairs into the kitchen. Before I could descend the stairs, I heard a door handle twisting from beside me. I stared to my right at my older sister's room, and just waited for her to come out, sitting on her wheelchair, complaining about whatever problem she had while sleeping.

"Good morning, Anna" I said, forcing a smile on my face "Good Morning, where's Carmen?" She asked, looking around from behind me "she just went into the kitchen, I'll try to prepare breakfast" I replied, as I continued my walk down the stairs. Anna did have the ability to walk, but her legs were extremely weak, causing her to fall over if she applied too much stress on them, one time she completely shattered them trying to run, that was a tough time for me, taking care of her nonstop, but she didn't need that much care in her current state.

"Call me when it's ready" she yelled, driving back into her room, and shutting the door with full force behind "I told you not close the door like that!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, but of course, there was no response, just silence.

I made my way into the kitchen, and almost immediately felt concerned watching Carmen stare intently at the kitchen calendar. "Maury?" She said, in a low, almost cracking voice "today is reaping day?" My eyes widened as I stared into the calendar. Was it? Have I lost all track of time? "Today you're going away?" Asked Carmen, tears filling up in her eyes, and her hands shivering in fear. Carmen was the only one that knew I was going to volunteer at some point, she was the only one that understood, despite her young age.

I ran over to her and hugged her tightly, tears rolling down my cheeks as well "it's okay, sweety, there's no need to worry" I said, trying to sooth her as much as possible. "I don't want you to go" she responded, her voice muffled as she stuffed her face deeper into my chest. What was I supposed to tell her? That I was going to win? I didn't want to plant any false hope inside of her. But I was training for that moment my entire life.

I pulled her back, and looked into her swollen eyes "don't worry, I'm doing it for both of you" I said as calmly as possible. My plan ever since the beginning was to win the games and give my sisters a better life, to move out from that cramped shit hole that we lived in and go to victors village.

Hell, I even held an axe in my hand more than I've ever held my parent's hands, not to mention that they died when I was ten, a year after my mother gave birth to Carmen.

"Let's get you some cooked eggs ready, huh?" I said, she cracked a smile and nodded her head, but the tears were not stopping from flowing down her face.

I grabbed my jacket from the nearby table and wore it, ready to step out into our backyard, where the chicken hut was. I opened the rusty front door, which created an ear-piercing sound, and stepped out, closing the door behind before any of the cold would find its way in.

I laid my hand in the wooden fence opening, and pushed it open, staring intently at the yard to see if any chickens were running around. After inspecting that none of them were, i made my way in and shut the entrance behind me, slowly walking towards the hut.

The sound of flies and bugs irritated me, where did they come from? They weren't supposed to come out until early summer. I quickly found out the reason for all of those insects roaming around, one of our three chickens was dead, lying motionless on the wooden floor of the hut, a stick plunged into her stomach.

I tried not to throw up from the sight, covering my mouth with my bear hands. Maybe the wind from last night caused a stick to impale that poor thing? I grabbed the head of the chicken and tossed the rotting body out into the dying grass. We were used to that in district ten, waking up and finding that some barn animal died while we weren't looking, but not in that way.

I stepped deeper into the hut and examined the remaining two chickens, the both seemed okay, so I lifted both of them and stared unsurprised at their empty nest. Nothing, no eggs, no food for Carmen, nothing.

Walking back towards my house, I noticed a strange riot in the distance, peacekeepers everywhere, pushing off some innocent citizens onto the sidewalk, while some tried to harm the peacekeepers, I tried to ignore the grunting and shouting, that happened every year, unfortunately, on reaping day.

I opened the front door of my house, empty handed. I glanced at Carmen, who was sitting at the table, confused and disappointed, I didn't have the heart to tell her that one of the chickens died though, that would've broken her heart.

"I'm sorry, Carmen, no eggs today either" I said under my breath. The look of sadness on her face made my heart sink, "It's okay…" she said, pulling her chair back and stepping off.

I stopped her before she would go anywhere "Carmen, you need to get ready" I said, with a small shiver in my voice "okay" she replied, walking off into the hallway, and locking herself in her room.

It was only a matter of time before I did the same thing, preparing myself for my last reaping, and giving my goodbyes to the home that I lived in my entire life, not to say that I liked it in there or anything, but I was, deep down, attached to it, attached to everything in district ten, even the rotting woods surrounding our area.

While making my way upstairs to my bedroom, I heard a small humming sound coming from Anna's room, a familiar melody, a melody that only our family knew, the one that symbolizes peace and harmony.

I twisted the knob, and made my way in, only to find Anna, staring out her window, with a blank expression on her face "Why are you leaving us" she said, it didn't sound like question, but almost like a demand. A stared at her, puzzled "what?" I replied, before suddenly realizing what she was talking about " Carmen told me everything, are you out of your mind!?" She yelled that last part as she twisted her way to face me " Are you seriously going to volunteer? What are you? Suicidal?" She drove her wheelchair swiftly towards me, and grabbed my arm, squeezing "Are you seriously going to leave us here? While you go out there killing other children?". I instantly pulled away from her, almost falling back "I'm doing this for both of you!" I yelled back, choking on my own words "I was training for this since I was six!" "I don't care Maury!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, cutting me off "this is suicide!".

She was right, what I was doing was technically a suicide mission, stepping into the arena with a slim chance of winning, but if I won, it would've been all worth it, that's what I tried to convince myself for the past eleven years "you can thank me later, when I win" I said before stepping out of the bedroom and running off to my own.

I lied in my bed for the next few minutes, meditating and recollecting all the memories and all the things that I went through during my life in district ten, they could've very well been my last, but there was a chance, a chance that I would return to my home.

Before I knew it, I started sinking into my own thoughts, drifting away to wonderland, collecting fragments of past memories that I've long forgotten until that moment. But the only memory that I got, was a vague, almost dream like memory, of me running around some hay bales in the edges of district ten, laughing and giggling, but I wasn't alone, there was someone with me, running besides me, there face completely washed out. They were saying something, but the lack of vividness my mind offered ended up drowning the sounds.

We then stopped shortly after to pet some goats that were roaming around, again, the person saying something faded out and distorted. Both of us were around eight years old, running freely in the fields and meadows, but then, the entire thing faded into darkness, and the mystery person saying something that I was almost able to make out "_Maury, I'll miss you"_.

I suddenly jumped out from my bed after the irritating sound of the reaping bell echoed through the district, it was time for all of us to head to the town square.

"Carmen! Are you ready?" I heard Anna shouting "yeah" I faint cry replying to Anna's question.

I put on my shoes, and ran down the stairs, only to find Carmen waiting for me at the entrance. Anna wasn't going with us, she was 19 and physically disabled, so she had the privilege to stay at home and escape the reaping. But before we left from the front door, I noticed Anna, standing a few feet behind me, her crutches supporting her wait "you'll regret this decision" she said under her breath, but before I could look at her face, I shut the door behind me, leaving her all in her own.

Carmen and I made our way through the crowded streets, slowly but steadily reaching the town square, and once we got there, we took our last goodbyes. That was it, that was the last one i would see my sister before stepping into the arena, but i was ready, I was ready to win for both of my sisters.

"Maury, please return home safe" she said, tears swelling up in her eyes "I promise I will" that was the moment were I really needed to give her some hope, so that she would keep going strong while I was gone.

I squeezed myself through the crowd until I reached the seventeen year olds section, trying to stand straight between the small spaces in the crowd. The smell of sweat and the sound of heavy, nervous breathing made me even more uncomfortable than I already was.

Before anyone said anything, a small built women emerged from doors of the justice building in front of us, her hair puffed up to ridiculous angles, each strand painted a different color of the rainbow, and her mermaid dress that shimmered in the sunlight was tainted a sickly green, smudged with glitter and tiny flowers.

She gently took off the microphone from its stand and placed so close to her mouth to the point where we were able to hear her saliva moving in her mouth.

"Welcome, welcome, to the 66th annual hunger games!" She said in a cheery, girly voice. I immediately shut down often noticing that she was blabbering about the hunger games and its history and what not, making me yawn every once in a while, but it's when she got closer to the bowls is when I snapped back to senses, waiting and waiting anxiously for a name to get picked.

She hovered her hand above the names contained in the glass bowl, and with a sudden movement, she snatched a small, folded piece of paper and started shuffling it around in her hands "the female tribute of district ten is" there was a long, annoying pause. I noticed all the tension that was going on around me, girls closing their eyes in fear, and others holding a small necklace tightly in there hand. I was going to save one of those girls.

"Hannah Rain" she yelled in excitement, and the girl next instantly bursts into tears. There was slight moment of hesitation before I threw my hand in the air, and screamed at the top of my lungs "I volunteer as tribute!"

Everything fell silent, the crowd all around me staring directly into my soul, confused, and those eyes, that made me feel like shit instantly.

My body started shivering before I came to the realization that I had to step out of the crowd and into the stage, and that's what I did, hesitantly. I climbed the rough, stone stairs of the justice building and presented myself in front of the entire district. "Well well well, looks we have a volunteer from district ten, how rare!" She said excitedly, with a creepy, unsettling smile stretching out from ear to ear. "So darling, what's your name" she stuck the microphone in front of my mouth, and with a small studded, I was finally able to spit out my name "Maury Abigail".

I started scanning the crowd, trying desperately to find Carmen, I was almost able to imagine her crying her face off, but she was nowhere to be found, probably wedged inside the crowd, unable to see me in my last moments in the district.

The women started walking slowly towards the bowls dedicated to boys, trying to build tension and nervousness. She hovered her arm again over the papers until swiftly snatching one out, "the male tribute from district ten is" another moment of silence. I was also nervous to see my district partner, and out of nowhere, I started imagining a poor thirteen year old emerging from the crowd flooding rivers of tears.

"Simon Harbert!" Almost instantly, a tall, seventeen year old boy came out of the crowd, as if he was expecting it. He had strange, metallic blue eyes and glistening blonde hair, which was extremely rare in district ten. He appeared almost calm and tranquil, probably hiding all the fear and all the mess of emotions that were flooding inside him with a mask.

"Let's give a round of applause to the two tributes from district ten!" Said the women excitedly, clapping her hands on her own, waiting for the crowd to the react. But there was no applause, only whispers, whispers and eyes pointing directly at me, confused and puzzled eyes.

She grabbed both of our arms out of nowhere and told us to shake hands, and so we did. Simon and I both stared at each other, his unbelievably blue, robotic like eyes filling me with a strange nostalgic feeling. He cracked a small smile at me, I couldn't help but smile back.

In a moments notice, I was in one of the rooms of the justice building, mesmerized by the luxurious furniture and gorgeous oil paintings, it almost felt like I was in the capitol itself.

I kept waiting and waiting, stuffing myself with the sweets that were piled inside the glass dish on the desk in front of me. It was about time for someone I knew to step into the room and say their last goodbyes to me, but nobody came, and Carmen was too young to come in on her own. But did Simon have a family? Did he have a mother, a father or siblings? Or was alone as well, awaiting the moment where both of us would be carried away into the capital, only for one of us to return.

The door slammed open, and two peacekeepers rushed into the room, their white, metal armor creating an almost ear shattering clicking sound. "Miss Abigail?" One of then said, staring at the brown clipboard he held in his hand. I stood up, and walked towards them, my legs shivering and teeth chattering.

They both grabbed me from the arms and led me to the train, they train that was going to lead me to my ultimate fate in the capitol. My heart skipped a beat at the thought of that.

I squeezed my way in through the thin, sliding door, and was instantly shocked by all the foods and beverages stacked on top of the buffet style tables. Freshly cooked steaks stacked on top of each other, small cupcakes covered in sweet, pink icing, and a small plate of bacon sandwiches, which was the most common food in district ten. "Hey" I heard a soft voice to the left of me, I twisted my head to face the person only to find Simon, sitting on one of the couches, cross legged, "Hi" I replied, the giant cake in the center of the tables grabbing my attention.

"Did anyone come to visit you?" I asked, taking a seat on the small couch in front of him " No actually, I don't have a family" he replied after a small pause. I stared at him, confused " so, not even siblings?" I asked, pushing even more questions "no, how about you? Did anyone visit you?" He fired the question back at me, but his eyes filled me with that strange feeling again, making studded at the beginning "no, I mean, i have two sisters but-" I paused, for some odd reason the words weren't coming out, but before I was able to spit out the sentence, the train jerked to one side, and starting moving forwards slowly. "One of them is disabled and the other is too young" I replied, noticing that the answer was kind of vague, but he nodded his head, staring deeper into my soul "you lived alone then?" I asked almost hesitantly " well no, I lived in the orphanage my entire life" he answered almost instantly.

The orphanage? From what I heard in the past it was one of the nastiest places in the district, rumors of rats and bats living in its hallways started circling around a few years back. "I was shocked when I saw you volunteering, was that girl your friend?" He asked, waiting patiently for an answer "no, I was training for this my whole life for my sisters" I replied, that time coherently "damn, I wish I was that brave" he replied, staring out the window for a moment, noticing the trees of the forest flying by.

"Isn't there supposed to be a mentor in here?" I asked, changing the subject. But that was weird, there was supposed to be a previous victor from our district mentoring us "he killed himself last week" replied Simon, glancing back at me. My jaw almost dropped, the person that was assigned to help us just decided to die a week prior to the reaping.

There was an awkward silence, and my mind was still wondering about the mentor, the person that won almost a decade ago in the 57th hunger game, Marius Willows, was his name. I even remembered watching his games when I was nine, or at least the replay of it, but the memories were vague and distorted.

With no mentor to give us advice, what were we going to do? I did know a handful of survival strategies, but what about Simon? Who lived his entire life in the district orphanage?

"Do you know any survival things?" I asked blatantly, waiting in anticipation for him to at least know something "maybe more than you" he replied, smiling "really?" I let out a small giggle, "I know how to start a fire, that's all" he laughed a little at the end, and I laughed along,

There was a strange tension in the air, my heart was beating faster than ever. "You're not going to eat anything?" Asked Simon, snatching a small bacon sandwich from one of the dishes. I forgot how much I was starving, so without saying a word, I stood up and walked over to the dish, and shoved a giant part of the sandwich in my mouth, the taste of the bacon exploding on my tongue, creating a satisfactory and almost relaxing feeling.

The train started slowing down, and before we knew it, we were already in the capitol. The giant, glass buildings, and the strange, hovering vehicles made me feel as if I was in a dream. Suddenly, a robotic voice coming from the speakers on the train started speaking "arriving at: tribute hotel".

That came to a final stop, and we were greeted by some guards that were waiting for us at the entrance of the hotel, along with that lady from before. "Oh, my darlings, you will have such a beautiful time in here before your imminent death!" She said giggling creepily as she led us down the giant lobby, shining with golden furniture and glistening windows.

They led both us to giant elevator, which supposedly taking us to our hotel rooms. We stepped in, and the strong smell of perfume covering the atmosphere almost suffocated me. "Okay, so, your rooms are on the tenth floor, the cafeteria is on the first floor and the training center where both of you will be going is on bottom floor"

Simon and I kept scanning what was beneath us as we ascended upwards, but was nothing more than a ton of luxurious furniture and capitol people chatting and watching replays of previous games, which deeply disgusted me, but who was I kidding? I also used to watch a shit ton of them when I was younger, absorbing every detail and every piece of information of every arena.

The elevator stopped with a loud 'ding' sound, and stained glass doors opened wide, revealing a large hallway, one room on each side " So both of you could relax for the day, the games are approaching so you better be well rested!" Said the women as she patted us on the shoulder, returning to the elevator and vanishing to another floor.

Simon and I kept staring at each other, anxiety and nervousness building up inside of us. It was getting late, all the other districts have already arrived hours before us, so we needed to sleep early "i guess we'll see each other tomorrow" I said under my breath, glancing at Simon "yeah" he replied, looking back at me, with his strange eyes.

It was a matter of time until one of us decided to wave goodbye to the other and walk off to their room. Speaking of rooms, mine was gorgeous, a huge king sized bed with red sheets made of of a short fabric, I never slept on one of those before in my entire life, that Capitol was really living the dream after the rebellion.

I threw myself on the luxurious bed, and feeling of the cool sheets made me feel sleepy almost instantly. It was the best that I had, ever, my entire body was relaxed, but of course my mind wasn't, it kept going back and forth thinking about the games, building up strategies that seemed almost impossible to execute. But my sisters was the most worrying thing to me, what are they doing? Are they okay? Will they be able to handle the lack of food until I'm back?

But the thought that most scared was that, if I died in the arena, both of them would be done for.

From that thought alone, I was unable to sleep, unable to close my eyes and relax my mind. I was in the capitol, only three days until I I was thrown into the arena. So to kill some time, I grabbed the strange looking rectangular device that was lying on the small table near my bed, I touched its soft surface until the giant window that showcased the capitol lit up, and changed into a television. I was baffled by the technology that the capitol has developed, there was none of that back in the districts as far is i've known.

I scrolled my two fingers across the black brick, and it started swapping between images, images of previous arenas and victors. The first one was from three years ago, a wide open desert with a scorching sun lighting it up, the victor was the girl from district one, the second one was from last year, which I remembered vividly, an island with a lot of greenery and beautiful scenery, but the ocean that shimmered in the sunlight was entirely acid, at least five tributes died from that alone, the victor was a fourteen year old from district four.

That was my biggest concern, the arena, the true killer, sometimes confusing and other times deceiving, which was the case in the 50th games, the arena was the most beautiful, a luscious meadow filled with gorgeous flowers, a captivating snowy mountain, and the peaceful, yet deadly rainforest. My mind kept going around and around, thinking about what arena the Gamemakers would've made, the first thought that came to mind was a plain ocean, no land, no nothing, just water, which made me even more scared and more anxious for what was to come.

It was almost midnight, the sky was coated in a dark black and the stars shimmered, giving some light to the endless darkness. Before I knew it, I lied on my back and almost instantly drifted off to dreamland.

—

"_NO" I yelled at the top of my lungs as my legs carried me through the dark and hollow jungle, the leaves and giant sticks cracking beneath my feet making me almost fall over. "PLEASE, NO" they were after me, all of them. A instantly jerked sideways once a heard a whizzing sound flashing from next to me ear, a knife instantly dug its way into the thick bark of one of the trees._

_The leaves and trees started dripping wet in thick, dark blood, the horrid sight of it making me completely distracted from the danger that lurked behind me. "Maury" I heard a small whisper from behind me, my name was being called "Maury" again, the same small voice, sounding almost familiar. I turned around only to notice Carmen, lying on her knees, mouth wide open. A girl was holding her tiny fragile hands, a rusty, metallic knife was pointed directly towards Carmen's throat, " Come on, Maury, aren't going to save your little sister?" My body immediately filled up with adrenaline and fury. I grasped my axe tightly between my fingers and was ready to lunge it forward towards the girls head, until…._

_With a swift move, the girl lifted up Carmen, and my axe went smashing into Carmen's skull. Blood ran down the head of the axe as I stared in horror at my sister, half her head jerked to an unreal position, and her eyes almost popping out of their sockets. "This is what happens Maury" spoke the girl, as she pushed away the remains of my dead sister. The girl was Anna, clutching the knife in her hand, pointing it to my heart "you'll lose your loved ones, and you'll end up following the same path as your mother, remember that"_

—

A loud knocking sound echoed through the bricks in the hotel room, making almost jump out in a panic. The sunlight breaking inside the room blinded me, making me cover my eyes with my palms. Someone was knocking the door, and whoever it was, I hated them at that moment, startling me and waking me up from my slumber.

I walked over lazily towards the gold colored door, and opened it aggressively out of anger. I almost forgot what I was thinking about once I stared into the pair of metallic blue eyes, it was Simon "Hey" he said, leaning against the door framing "hi" I replied, rubbing my eyes as i spoke hoarsely. He stood up straight and spoke "they told me to come wake you up" a look of confusion washed over my face, until i remembered what was happening, today was the first day of training "okay" i replied, walking away from the door "I'll get ready" he nodded his head and walked to the other side of the marble hallway, leaning against the wall.

I quietly shut the door behind and walked towards my wardrobe. It was made out of slick, and almost slippery wood, and completely coated with a black color, which matched the atmosphere of the modern looking room i was in. i opened it, and the only thing in there was my training outfit, a onesie, colored a navy blue color with thin, red stripes running down the sleeves.

I took it out and wore it, which cost me a lot of work since it was extremely tight and uncomfortable, but then the thought hit me, i was wearing the outfit of the girl from last year, the girl from my district. The thought was revolting, wearing a dead girl´s clothes, and i was almost certain that a shit ton of other tributes wore it before me, which were most likely dead.

I walked over to the door, and opened it, stepping out into the hallway filled with the suffocating smell of Capitol perfume. Simon was there, waiting for me to come out from the bedroom "you ready?" he asked, i nodded and we both headed to the elevator, nervous and anxious to meet that year´s tributes from other districts. The dinging sound of the elevator rang into our ears, and we went in, hoping that we wouldn't attract any attention, now that we didn't have a mentor to guide us.

**Hi guys! thank you for reading, i just wanted to say that i'm sorry for the abrupt ending, it's because i have more of the story typed out and ready to be published afterwards, i hope i will be able to publish new chapters regularly so yeah.**


	2. Chapter 2

The elevator abruptly stopped on the 6th floor, and i instantly felt uneasy when i saw the two tributes from district six waiting outside for the elevator to open. The ride down was awkward, no one spoke a word, and i felt like my whole body was sweating, and the strange outfit i was wearing didn´t help with the sweat either, all it did was stick onto me even more than it already was. Everyone else was feeling the same, the girl was running her hands down her golden blonde hair out of anxiety, and boy was staring at Simon and I, as if we were bloodthirsty killers craving to kill them, and deep inside me, i was planning to do that to both of them, kill them with cold blood, it didn´t matter if they had families, i had to reach my goal no matter what.

The elevator finally landed on the ground floor without anymore interruptions, and the boy went running out, panting for air, but he got nothing more than the nasty perfume roaming around the atmosphere. Simon and i kept wandering through the hallway leading to the training center, our glances rolling back and forth, staring at the portraits of previous victors. Of course, almost all of them were from district one, two, and four, which were the districts that trained their children from a young age, and when they became eighteen, they would volunteer to win. At was almost sickening to think that your parents would offer you up to such games for you to win, to continue the ´family honor´ as they called it.

The sound of heavy objects crashing against foam started echoing around the wide hallway, and it became even louder when the doors opened, revealing an entire gym like area with all types of weapons and survival practice. I was mesmerized, excited almost, but all those emotions quickly changed when i saw the tributes from one, two and four. My stomach turned once i saw them using all types of weapons almost professionally, spears hitting the targets every time, swords slicing the mannequins clean in half, and tridents piercing through other targets, and sticking out from the otherside. And the fact that the six of them were allies made it even worse for me, i had no chance against them, they went to academy all their life while i was self taught. Simon grabbed me by the wrist and said in a low voice "lets go somewhere else".

"So i think you do it like this, right?" asked Simon as he fiddled with the sticks in his hand "you said you knew how to start a fire" i replied, a small smile forming on my face "yeah, i forgot" he replied, scratching his head as he laid the sticks to the side. I grabbed one of the sticks that Simon organized and started rubbing it against the bigger on the ground, and almost instantly, a small flame popped out "see? It´s not that hard" i said, staring back at him "you know? Survival isn´t my thing" he said, standing up as he stretched his entire body "then what is your thing? Hiding in bushes? Cause that rarely works in the arena" i replied. He laughed a little as he walked towards the ranged weapons section, signaling me to follow him.

I grabbed a bow from one of the stands, and glanced at me "watch this" he said as he gently placed an arrow on the metal bow. He pulled the arrow backwards, and with a quick aim, he let go. The arrow went flying across the gym until it finally hit the target right in the head, not to mention that it was on the other side of the gym.

My mouth was agape, and my mind was confused yet impressed at the same time. Did they teach that at the orphanage? Or was he self taught as well? Those question never found their way out of my mouth though.

I glanced back at the savage career pack, only to find them staring at Simon and I. My heart instantly sank to my stomach, all six of them were staring at us, smiling creepily, they were going to target Simon in the arena after seeing what he was capable of.

"It's not a bad idea to find some allies, right?" spoke Simon as he stared back at the pack. Before i could reply, he started scanning the area, looking at every individual tribute, until his eyes locked at the pair from eight. A girl with shining ginger hair and blue eyes, she looked slightly younger than us. She was also clutching a small, bamboo pipe along with some blow darts, and the boy had dark, dark hair, with a small swirl that formed at the edge of his forehead, and a giant eyepatch covering his right eye. But the two of them were quickly joined by the girl from eleven, swirly black hair, and dark skin. The three of them started talking to each other as if they knew one another from before, but there voices were drowned out by the distance between us. Out of nowhere, Simon walked towards the three of them, hoping that they would accept him as an ally. So i stood there, watching him as he tapped on the boy's shoulder, and after almost five minutes of talking i was able to make out smiles and giggles, the sound faded out.

The idea almost instantly hit me, recruiting allies sounded like a good idea, so that's what i did, i kept roaming around, scanning every tribute's action, what they did, what weapon they used, and what skill they had, until my eyes laid on the two from district nine, the girl, who was my age, had long, beautiful black almost navy hair, flying around every she flung a knife towards one of the targets, hitting it everytime. And the boy, who was surprisingly twelve years old, was carving out a small lance from a stick that he got from the survival section.

I walked over to the girl, my heart was beating abnormally, and my muscles were extremely tensed. My social skills weren't great, i never had friends in my life anyway, accept for…..

"_Maury, i'll miss you"_

"Hey" i said, trying as best as i could to keep my voice stable and straight. She spinned around almost instantly, looking irritated "what´s up?" she replied confidently, not a single crack in her voice, which startled me. It took a few seconds for the words to spit out of my mouth "i was wondering if you would like to join our alliance" there was a small moment of silence, and all i was able to make out was her confused stare "who else is in it?" she asked, the younger boy, who was a few meters away from us, was just looking, not saying a single word. I forced my hand to form into a pointing position, and i directed it to were Simon and the other three were, surprisingly, Simon was pointing back at us too, the pair from eight and the girl from eleven staring at me. Once they saw were Simon was pointing, the girl from eight starting waving at me, a small smile forming in her face. "Them" i replied, hoping that she would accept, i needed as much allies as possible if i wanted to survive the arena.

"Fine, i guess, name´s Bethany" she replied, sticking out a hand for me to shake "Maury" i said almost quietly, shaking her hand, which was kind of sweaty from her clutching knives for the past few hours. "Sammy, come here" she signaled to the boy as he stood up, she whispered in his ear for a few seconds until he nodded his head in agreement to whatever she told him "if you lay a finger on my sister in the arena i will kill you!" he said out of nowhere, which startled me, "Sammy!" she pushed his shoulder slightly "don´t mind him, he's kind of repulsive sometimes" said Bethany, i nodded my head.

I felt a subtle tap on my shoulder, one that sent a chill down my spine, i jerked my body to look behind only to find the girl from eight staring into my soul, her freckles clearer than ever "Hi!" she said in a sing songy way "your name is Maury right? Im Arora, Simon told us that you were an ally" i wasn't able to even speak from the jumpscare that hit me when i saw her pop up from behind me, so i was only able to nod my head. I glanced back at Simon, who was now talking to Bethany and her brother, the boy from eight and the girl from eleven alongside him, all of them talking almost calmly and confidently to each other "you see that creepy boy over there with the eyepatch?" said Arora, pointing at her district partner "thats Ray, my step brother, and that girl next to him, that´s Naya" she was talking way to fast, like one of those nerdy girls you find at school, it took me awhile to notice that she had a slight lisp.

I almost fell forward when Arora starting dragging with full force towards the other five, who were now talking as if they were long time friends, even Sammy was talking comfortably to Naya, the girl from eleven "hey Ray, this is Maury" he turned back to look at us, but his expression remained serious, there was even a frown forming on his bushy eyebrows "hey" the deepness and raspiness of his voice shocked me, it sounded as if he had caught cold before arriving at the Capitol. He offered to shake my hand as well, so i reluctantly did, the fierce look in his one eye made me hesitate, but my mind trailed off again, what was under that eyepatch?

Shortly after i met Naya, she was very kind and very open towards me, and weirdly enough, she and the other two from eight looked as if they've known each other for the longest time, but her district partner was nowhere in sight, but i didn´t feel like it "oh Maury, i heard you volunteered, is that true" she asked, "yeah, i did actually" i replied, a look of impressiveness and proudness washed up in her face "damn, you must be some brave girl" i smiled at her after she said that, Simon said that to me as well when we were in the trains, the taste of bacon soon formed in my mouth, and hunger kicked in "are you and Simon related in any way?" she asked, glancing at him for a short moment "no," i replied, she seemed almost upset by that answer "we met yesterday". Simon then stood up and looked at us all "so is there plan?" he asked, there was a moment of silence, everyone was coming up with something, but i just sat there, my mind blank.

"I think we should leave the plans for tomorrow" said Ray in his deep, raspy voice, which almost made me jump yet again "training time has ended anyway" he sat up, and Arora went after him. I looked back at the gym and noticed all the tributes flooding out, but one of them, was staring into my soul from the distance, licking his lips as an eerie, shark like smile formed on his face, the boy from district, i soon noticed all his other teammates, examining us one by one as if we were a meal for them to eat. They were going to be a dangerous problem in the arena.

We said our goodnights to our allies before splitting ways into our own floors, all of them were pretty nice, but there was no room for me to get attached to them, they _were_ my allies, but at some point i would be forced to kill them.

"So what do you think of our allies" said Simon as he pressed the elevator button, i nodded my head "they seem pretty nice" i replied, nodding my head "Bethany seems to be pretty handy with the knife, and Ray is pretty nice as well" he said, the statement confused me "he looked disgusted when he saw me!" i replied, stepping into the elevator, the smell of perfume hit me again and made me start coughing "well he smiled when both of us were talking, maybe it´s because you´re not that social?" he said, smiling. I punched him gently in the arm "i am social, just not with people that i´ll have to kill" everything fell silent and i instantly regretted what i said at that moment "i don´t like thinking about that, really" he said, breaking it "they could potentially be our friends in the future" what future was he talking about? No one in that entire place had a future except for one "maybe of we escaped the arena" i was shocked, frozen on place "are you insane? Thats´s impossible!" my mind flashed back to the 12th hunger games, when i used to watch older replays, i remembered the two lovers that attempted an escape, until the forcefield zapped them to death, there was no victor that year as they were the only two left. "You´re right, i think i got too attached to them in those few hours" he seemed as if he was about to start crying, but he held his tears back, swallowing the lump in his throat.

The elevator stopped at our floor, and we stepped out, each one heading to a different direction without saying a word, until i broke the silence "see you tomorrow" i said, he turned around i noticed a faint smile on his face.

I opened my bedroom door and ran instantly towards the bed, throwing myself face first into the cool, comfy sheets, i had to enjoy that as much as possible, the next day was the last training day and we would be thrown into the arena to sleep on hard, cold rocks or on sizzling hot desert sand.

After what felt like ages of not being able to sleep, i sat up and turned on the television that was inside the giant window, i was still shocked when it lit up. I started scrolling through the menu, searching for something that would potentially help me sleep, like a music player or some nature sounds. Until, i found something interesting at the very bottom of the menu, it was a file titled "trib-info-for-nerds" it sounded interesting, and curiosity quickly took over, i pressed the glass brick on my hand and it instantly opened, revealing every single piece of information of every tribute. My mind instantly told me tap on one of the careers, and my finger instantly made contact with the screen and the boy from one appeared first:

Name: Christian Meridalf

Age: 18

Strengths: throwing knife/ kunai

Weaknesses: no weaknesses found

Reflex level: 9/10

Strength level: 10/10

Agility level: 8/10

Intelligence: 7/10

That was going to be my most helpful weapon, that single file on that television/ computer thing. I quickly scanned the entire file, memorizing every single piece of information of every tribute, their strengths, weaknesses, but the thing was, that was only the information provided for the first day of training, so it was most probably going to change the day after.

After almost an hour of reading through that file, i felt my eyes tiring out, and my mind felt like it was no longer functioning correctly. I turned off the television and the room went completely dark, and with a small sense of panic from the sudden darkness, i fell into my bed sheets, and lost connection to the conscious world.

_The both of us stared intently at the the small critter popping out from the wet, muddy ground, once it fully came out, i wrapped my hands around it and carried it "woah, that's so cool" he said, poking the frog's head as i held it "they mostly spend their time under the soil or under the water" i said, feeling proud of the information that i was giving him "so like, they sleep in the soil?" he asked, looking into the creature's eyes. It started struggling for a moment, almost escaping my grip until i tightened it enough for it not to escape, i wasn't hurting it of course, my mom taught how to carry them carefully "yeah, or in the water, they can breath in both" he looked almost mesmerized by that frog "you didn't know that before?" i asked him, he shook his head "all i know that it eats bugs" he replied._

_We both kept exploring the edges of our district, exploring the nature and running around in the forest, looking after all sorts of creatures, and feeding the small birds in the trees with the seeds that i brought from my home._

"_Maury look!" he yelled, i turned around, only to find him holding his hands forward, seeds all over them, and small humming birds with almost every neon color roaming around him, picking at the seeds in his hands. I was shocked, i tried that almost everyday but it only worked with him. "My mom used to do the same with the birds in my home" he said, smiling as he watched the small birds eating from his hands "where is your mom?" i asked, smiling as well "i don't know, my dad said she's in a far away place, better than here" he replied._

_**Just like mine…**_

"So, did anyone come up with a plan yesterday?" asked Ray, scanning each of us awaiting an answer "i think i have one" jumped Bethany, her brother holding her hand tighter than ever, Ray nodded his head and all of us listened intently "during the bloodbath tomorrow, let's all meet up behind the cornucopia, i think that's the safest place there" we all nodded, "but what if the careers followed us there? Didn't you see how they´re looking at us?" asked Arora, glancing back at the careers, who also seemed as if they were plotting something, their faded out voices irritating me "Beth is right, that's our safest bet, but some of us might not make it out" replied Ray. Everyone stared at one another, a moment of silence broke through as if everyone was too shy to speak "then we need to see who's the weakest between us, those who will not run to center" spoke Simon, that was probably a better idea, we didn't want to lose anyone on the first day "then Sammy runs straight to the back of the cornucopia, avoiding combat" i said, and before anyone spoke a word, he stood up staring at me aggressively "im not weak! I can take it!" he exclaimed. Bethany sat him down, cutting him off from the what he was going to say after "this is better for you, i don't want you to die on the first day" she told him, holding his shoulders "i can cover him while he gets supplies" said Naya out of nowhere "as long as he gets the things that are the farthest from the cornucopia" Bethany seemed almost happy by what her teammate said, Bethany needed the knives desperately, so she had to go into dead center to get them.

"It's settled then, we meet behind the cornucopia when everyone is done gathering supplies" said Simon, but Ray didn't seem convinced "what if there was nothing behind the cornucopia" he said, his voice sounding raspier than ever "or what if the entire arena was behind it, then what?" Simon paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts "then we just look for each other after" he replied blatantly, Ray seemed confused by the answer, but didn´t attempt confronting Simon about it.

A loud, ear piercing sound echoed around the gym, it resembled the sound of a bell but more high pitched. Planning time was over, and it was time for combat training. All of our pack scattered around the gym, reaching out for the preferred weapons, and i did the same. I headed over to a small shelf with steel weapons organized neatly on top of it, and my weapon was there, the one taking up the most space, my battle axe, completely crafted out of steel, with a cold and rough handle, just like i was used to my whole life.

I snatched it up from the shelf, the hefty weight satisfying me. It was a large and heavy weapon, but i was quick and agile with, not to mention that i knew techniques that not a lot of people were able to master. I walked over towards the foam targets, which were designed to move around whenever someone stood on the platform a few meters away. I looked back at Simon, who was chatting with Bethany, the tone of their voices indicated that they were planning something.

I stomped my foot on the platform, and within seconds, the targets started moving around me in random patterns. With one swift move, i twisted around and swung my large axe at the target that was nearest to me, in a matter of the seconds the entire thing was severed in half. Another one next to me, i twisted around once more and performed an upper kick which landed on the targets face, knocking it backwards, and for the final blow, i made a small spin and dug my axe into the target´s neck. I repeated that procedure for the next three targets, until i noticed the one that was the farthest away from me, almost ten or fifteen meters. Without even moving, i placed my axe on one hand and used the other to aim carefully. The axe was positioned correctly behind my back and with one quick move, i lunged my axe forward, letting it fly into the target's chest. It dug its way deep enough for the target to be considered dead, that was one of the most unrealistic moves to be used with a battle axe, but i didn't train since the age of six for nothing.

I was about to go collect the axe until i felt a dozen eyes on me, i turned around only to find half of the twenty-four tributes staring at me as if i was a savage beast, even the careers seemed terrified of what i was capable of, but of course, they went to a special academy while i was self taught. Even the trainers seemed baffled, thinking that it was impossible for a poor district to offer up an actually decent tribute. That was the moment were i was the one to smirk at the boy from one, he immediately turned to look the other way which made me feel satisfied enough.

"Oh, my, god!" i heard Arora´s voice from behind me, getting louder and louder with each word "you scared the careers off!" her smile and her words made me feel proud of myself "that was amazing, you´re totally going to win!" for some odd reason, those words made me feel uncomfortable, mostly because the girl that was in front of me as almost certain that she was going to die, but i just cracked a smile and thanked her.

Simon and Bethany were impressed by my performance, but Naya, Ray and Sammy were too distracted with their own survival training.

After a few minutes we all regrouped at one of the tables by the side of the gym, revising our plan and trying to guess what supplies were the most important to get. Almost all of them agreed to not go inside the cornucopia but i had other plans, i was going straight in, i needed the battle axe or any other weapon that resembled it, then survival supplies came second.

Another bell rang, indicating the end of training, which meant that was the last time i was going to talk to my allies before the arena.

The sky became covered in black, and for the first few minutes i stared into the stars before falling asleep, that was one of the only things that made me feel safe and sound in this terrifying, corrupt place. Our lives were never normal, the children from our districts were forced to kill each other for the sick and twisted entertainment of the Capitol, they even forced us to watch it as well, but i watched them at my own will, i wanted to learn from the mistake of the past tributes and avoid them when i got to the age that i was now, which was fucked up as well, a person that never had a normal childhood because they kept watching replays of previous hunger games, that was the reason i never had real friends, they all thought i was a psychopath at school "_hey, isn't that psycho girl who wants to kill children when she grows up?" _they used to tell me that the whole time. But i completely stopped going to school when i turned ten, not because they kicked me out, not because of the immense bullying, but because my mother decided to hang herself, leaving her corpse in the kitchen for younger Carmen and i to see. I never knew where she worked or what she did for a living, but Anna knew that, but she never wanted us to know, saying that it was too disturbing and too twisted.

Being the the caretaker of my home, looking after my sisters and the house, it was almost obligatory to find a job, but i didn't, i was too tired of life to do that, i just kept training everyday of every week of every month until my limbs gave up.

My train of thought was stopped by the sound of laughs and giggles from outside my room, i kicked off my bedsheets and stepped out of my bed, walking towards the door and opening it slowly. The laughs got slightly louder, as if they were coming from the hallway that my room was in. after my hearing cleared up a little i was able to recognize the voices.

I went out into the hallway only to find Arora, Bethany and Naya standing there, chatting casually "Maury, you're awake" said Bethany walking towards me "what are you all doing in here?"i asked, closing the door behind me gently "isn't it obvious? Girls night!" said Arora flinging her hands in the air, for a moment i thought she was drunk "don't listen to her, we were revising the plan for tomorrow" said Bethany, but why were they doing it in the hallway where my room was? "We wanted to wake you up but we felt bad after a while".

The four of us sat down at the lounge that was at the side of the hallway and started talking about the plan for the day after, but the subject quickly changed when Naya asked Bethany what district nine was like, she shrugged and said "filled with wheat i guess" the three of us giggled "what about eleven?" she asked Naya, she paused for a moment "it's all fields and forests, but we're not allowed to go there unless it's for work" she replied, district ten was different, we had fields and farms, and kids would always be there playing and running "you girls are lucky, district is filled with factories and we barely have any nature, plus everyday there's a riot against the peacekeepers" spoke Arora, brushing her red hair with her fingers "at least you don't spend the day slitting the throats of chickens" i said, waiting for their reaction "that must be bloody" replied Naya with a look of worry in her face.

"I wish we all met on better conditions" said Bethany, staring out the window, taking in the bright lights of the Capitol, she was right, i was getting attached to them, treating them like friends, if only the Hunger Games were never a thing we wouldn't have to worry about killing each other.

After talking for another few minutes, Naya and Arora decided that it was getting late, and left, saying their last goodbyes before seeing us in the arena. "What's your family like" i asked Bethany, trying to keep the atmosphere active "they're alright, it's a normal family, though my dad is always out for work" she replied, staring blankly into nothingness "how about yours?" she asked, looking quite interested in what my life was like "i only have my two sisters, one that's nineteen and the other that's twelve" i answered "the same age as my brother Sammy" she said after, that was right, her brother was twelve, but he was nothing like Carmen.

After chatting back and forth for a while and talking about our lives, i felt as if i was going to fall asleep on the spot, until Bethany suggested that we went to bed, we had to be well rested for the games the next day. I watched as she walked into the darkness of the hallway, and vanished, as if she was consumed by it, my nerves calmed down once i heard the dinging of the elevator. She was gone, and the next time i was going to see her was in the arena.

"Oh dear, what is she doing out here?" i heard a women's voice yelling in confusion and frustration "was she locked out?" the voice got louder and louder, and sound of high heels tapping against the marble floor got louder and louder. I instantly opened my eyes in a panic once i felt a hand on my shoulder. My vision was blurry for the first few moments, until i was aware were i was, i was in the hallway outside my room, sitting on the lounge couch that i was on the previous night. Did i pass out? I stared into the women's face, realizing that escorted Simon and i into the Capitol from our district, but with a different outfit.

"You need to get ready, today is your big day!" she screamed in excitement, a wide smile on her face, "here, take this and get changed" she handed me a small plastic bag, filled with what i only assumed was the arena attire, but for some reason, my heart sunk for moment, those were the clothes that i was going to be wearing for the next few weeks.

I locked myself into my room, trying to get away from everyone that was out there, i was panicking, but why? That was the moment i was waiting for since i was a small child.

Out of nowhere, i felt tears running down my cheeks, i tried to calm myself down, but it felt almost futile, if i kept up like this i was probably going to faint on my pedestal before the games even started. That thought worried me even more, and it took me a few minutes before i was completely stable again. I stood up from the ground i was curled up on, and started rummaging through the bag, wiping the tears from my now swollen eyes. The first thing i picked up was a red tank top, and some mustard yellow cargo pants, and two boots that were at the very bottom of the bag. I quickly put on the attire in a panic after hearing the sound of a bell ringing in the distance.

Almost instantly as i finished tying the laces of the last boot, two peacekeepers burst into the room, grabbing me by the arms, squeezing violently. It was painful, where were they taking me? In a fit of panic i started kicking and screaming, until i noticed Simon, at the end of the hallway being dragged out by peacekeepers as well, but he seemed so calm about it, too calm. He glanced back at me after hearing my screams of agony, and only moving his lips, he said "it's going to be okay".

They started dragging us down a large hallway, our footsteps echoing harshly, making the atmosphere even more eerie than it already was. Suddenly, the sound of engines lurking in the distance made almost panic again, but i held it in, trying desperately not to let out any tears, i had to look threatening, i had to scare the other tributes, but with the state i was in that was going to be an utter failure.

The aircraft was almost entirely full, only a dew tributes were left to board, but all the others were there, sitting next to each other casually as if nothing was going to happen. They sat me down and strapped me down to a metal chair next to the girl from five, and i just there, my eyes moving from what tribute to the other, remembering the weaknesses from that file that i read a day back, but my thoughts were cut short once they brought Simon in, strapping him to a chair that was too far away for us to communicate. The next two people to board were Naya and her district partner, i was too drowned in my own thoughts to notice were they were sitting.

The next were the pair from twelve, and that was it, no more people to board the aircraft. A sudden thud made as all jump in our places, the aircraft was leaving land, it was taking us to the arena, it was taking to our imminent death.

A tall lady dressed in all white popped out of nowhere, and started injecting us with a strange, blue liquid, as she reached out to take Ray's arm, who was a few seats next to me, mustered up the courage to pull back his arm "the fuck is that?!" he yelled, thumping back against his chair "it's your tracker" she snatched up his arm with lightning speed and injected he before he was even able to react. She came over to me, and dug the syringe deep into my flesh, the sharp pain made me bite my lip, and the faint blue glow that was emitting from that spot of my arm made me slightly concerned.

The aircraft landed, and doors opened wide, creating a narrow walkway for us to walk on, my heart skipped a beat before setting foot on that metal floor, but the peacekeepers pushed me out aggressively, and out of impulsiveness, i flicked one of them off, i wasn't able to say their expression with that giant hideous mask covering their entire head.

I examined my surroundings, realizing that we were walking towards a ginormous metal dome, the sunlight deflecting from it blinding me for a moment. I looked even further, and noticed even more domes standing tall in the distance, _past arenas_, was my first thought, what else were they supposed to be?

They sent the twenty four of us down into a dimly lit hallway, rusty metal pipes running around all the walls, and the smell of sewage made my stomach churn.

The peacekeepers opened up a metal door, and pushed me in even more aggressively than before. They immediately shut the door with full force behind me before i was able to react, and i was left alone, in a small, concrete room with nothing but a tube in the center of it. I was trembling more than i ever was before, that was the most nerve wrecking moment that i have ever experienced in my entire existence. I was about to step into the tube until i noticed the small raincoat hung up on a wall near me, i snatched it from where it was, the crunching sound of the fabric made me realize that that wasn't a raincoat, it was a heat proof jacket, stained with mustard yellow along with three black lines running down the sleeves and the torso area.

I reluctantly wore it, which caused me even more effort from all the trembling that my body was producing. That was it, there was no turning back from that point, i volunteered, and i had to face the consequences of my actions.

"Thirty seconds" said an eerily robotic voice from a speaker above my head. I swallowed the vomit that was building up into my mouth, and my throat started burning, those mixed emotions were something that i had never felt, it was the feeling of pure dread and horror. "Twenty seconds" she said, without a second thought, i lunged myself into the tube, and squeezed myself into the corner, trying to hide away from the fear that was manifesting into me.

The tube closed from behind me, and the only action that popped into mind was to bang against the glass, screaming and crying my face off, regretting ever being born into the this twisted society. The plate beneath me started rising, which caused me to bang against the glass even harder, but struggling was futile, there was nothing i could've done.

The tube drowned in darkness, leaving me stranded alone with my patheticness and sorrow. What was i thinking about on that day? Why did i dedicate my entire life to achieve a goal that i knew deep down i was never going to accomplish? But there was no time for those questions to find an answer, i had to prepared for whatever was awaiting me in the arena, i had to prepared to eliminate anyone that stood in the way of my plans.


	3. what she wished for

A bright light started stinging my eyes, it felt as if they were burning out completely. There was a breeze of cold air that touched my face, comforting me for the first few seconds in the arena, my vision slowly regained its strength and clarity, and first thing that my mind was able to make out was the tall, yellow grass that tangled around the pedestal i was standing on.

I looked further into the distance, expecting to find a normal, silver cornucopia, but instead, i noticed something jaw dropping, at the very center of the semi circle that all the other tributes formed, there was a giant, eerily large metal horn standing tall, it was unlike any cornucopia that anyone has ever seen. It was formed with giant metal bars that were jumbled together, and then sprouted out in front of us to form the very mouth of the cornucopia, which looked as if it was fifty meters in height, it was all abnormally large in general, and i was lucky enough to be able to see the contents in the inside, it was chalk full of weapons and armory, too full, and there were even ladders that lead to upper floors, three in total, that were piled up with crates filled with food and survival equipment.

I forcefully took my eyes off from the abnormally large horn, and tried to scan the rest of the arena, the only thing that my eyes were able to make out was a tree line, the leaves and bushes all yellow like the grass beneath us and beneath the trees. I stared at the rest of the tributes that were next to me, nine to my left, and fourteen to my right, i was quickly able to locate Bethany, Simon and Sammy, the rest were most probably to my left, but i didn't bother searching, all i did was wipe the tears from my eyes and locate my weapon…..it was nowhere to be found, there was no battle axe, all the weapons were there, but why wasn't the battle axe? There was no time to complain, i had to locate a useable weapon, my eyes laid on the machete that was on the second floor of the cornucopia, leaning against a black crate filled with apples, hopefully apples.

"30, ,29, 28, 27" the countdown started, and my legs almost immediately started trembling once more. I looked one last time at the careers that were a few tributes away from me, all of them ready to run and slay the other weaklings "26, 25, 24, 23, 22" but i was no weakling, i was going to take them down, all of them, and i was going to return to my sisters, safe and sound "21, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16" but what was going to happen to my allies my…..friends? I wasn't going to kill them was i? "15, 14, 13, 12, 11" i had to calm down, i had to stop my panicked thoughts and focus on what was going to come "10, 9, 8, 7, 6" i rehearsed the plan one last time in my mind "5, 4," that was it, i had to make it, i had to survive through all the pain that i was going to experience at that moment "3, 2, 1".

The gong went off, and almost instantly, i lunged forward out of my pedestal, running as fast as my feet would carry me. I looked back at the other tributes, running to different directions, trying to get whatever they could, some tributes were already inside the giant cornucopia, rummaging through the stacked crates and examining weapons as quickly as possible.

I snatched a small backpack that i found lying on the yellow grass just beside the metal wall of of the cornucopia, and continued running into the darkness of the mouth. And as i was entering, in the corner of my eye, i noticed the girl from four blowing her trident into the head of another tribute, the blood splattering to a few others. I headed for the ladders, ignoring the girl getting her head bashed against the wall, for moment the panic made me think it was Bethany, but gladly it wasn't. I was just about to reach the upper floor until i felt a hand on my ankle, pulling me down aggressively. I looked down only to find the boy from three trying to drop me down. What a fool, with a swift move i kicked him down in the face, breaking his nose and causing him to drop down the ladder only to be quickly killed by one of the careers.

The first thing i saw on the second floor, was Chris, the boy from one, slashing down at a poor girl's throat, the knife penetrating her through the neck. I sneakily ran towards the machete that i have been searching for, and finally found it, that time knocked onto the floor with the apples rolling around freely. I quickly grabbed it, and was ready to run out to meet the others until i noticed the entire battle that was happening outside and slowly flooding into the inside.

Through all the mess i was able to see Arora, clutching Ray's hand tightly as he swung his combat axe at another tribute. I had to wait out, i had to hide from the bloodbath until it died down, but from all the panic and frustration, i jumped down from the second floor and blindly ran straight into the action, almost tripping on some bodies in the process.

Right before i made my way out from the cornucopia, the boy from eleven popped out from nowhere, grabbing a machete tightly, ready to shove it into my skull. But he was slow, not to mention that he aiming down slightly beside from the heavy weight so it was easy to dodge, i was able to easily take him down, there was no other choice anyway. I held my machete forward, the sound of clashing metal working for me as i sign that it was time for the blowing move. I spun the machete around the mace for half a second before knocking it out of the boy's hands completely. I spun around and kicked him in the naugen, taking away his sense of direction for a few moments until slashing him right across the chest, some of the blood splashing onto me.

I looked to my sides and noticed that the battle died down, but some tributes were still fighting it out, i was about to grab the boy's supplies until i noticed the three careers chasing after me, stepping on the bloodied dead bodies of their victims. I instantly started running alongside the cornucopia, hoping that my allies would be at the very back of it like the plan suggested, but after running for what seemed like an eternity, they weren't there, none of them.

The sound of something whizzing through the atmosphere, headed straight for me, made me panic. With lightning reflexes, i dodged the spear, causing it to stick deep into the ground, but my momentum caused me to fall sideways. They were getting closer to me, i had to escape, i had to find Simon and the others.

My body immediately jumped up from the soft grassy ground, and i ran at lightning speed towards the treeline, washing that it was going to give me enough cover. I jumped in between in the large bushes, breaking some twigs and almost tripping on a body, which, unsurprisingly, had a throwing knife sticking out of it. I calmed down once i noticed that they weren't chasing me anymore, and i ended up finding myself in another open field filled with nothing but tall yellow grass, but at the very end of the field there was a giant cliff that lead to the very bottom of the arena, which was a large, open savannah stretching miles and miles in the horizon.

I quickly scanned the nearby area, desperate to find a way, there was no way i was returning to the cornucopia's vicinity, not with those savages hunting for me.

Small platforms tangled with moss and grass were sticking out from the sides of the cliff, creating an almost perfect staircase. I jumped down to one of them and carefully made my down, trying my hardest not to trip and the vines that were wrapped tightly around the platform. Reaching the way down, i noticed that the only way to get all the way down was jump a ten meter drop, which, for an untrained person would cause them to break their ankles, but for me, that was a normal thing to do. I jumped off from the last platform, and did a barrel roll once i made contact with the ground, completely unnecessary, but it felt good.

My eyes scanned the vicinity around me, and the first thing that i found to be of good cover, was a large area filled with nothing but thin mountains of dirt and grass, with an acacia at the top of each one. I ran across the large fields of the savannah, turning around just to make sure that there wasn't anyone behind me.

I was finally able to reach that strange area, and the shade that it provided was comforting, as well as all the cover that was available. I leaned against one of the thin mountains, tiny bits of soil dropping on my head after contact, and the soft breeze under the shade filled me with comfort and security. After my breath returned to me, the curiosity to inspect the backpack kicked in. So i took it off from my back and placed it on my lap, it looked like a camping pack, which made it all the better. I started pulling out the contents and organizing them on the soft yellow grass next to me, a water bottle, completely full, which was the rarest thing to ever happen to me, some ropes, matches, hooks, a dagger, some throwing knives and at the very bottom, a thick, puffy jacket made out of polyester, a ski jacket, but why did we need a ski jacket in the middle of a savannah? I shoved it back into the backpack, recollecting all my items afterwards. The one thing that was missing was food, and strangely enough, in that wide savannah, there wasn't any animal life.

The sound of faint chirps appeared from above me, i looked up, only to find a small bird standing on one of the branches of the acacia trees, until suddenly fading into the leaves. I had to hunt that bird down, i was in desperate need of food, so i decided to climb up the sturdy rocks sticking out of the soil. I placed my hand on a small rock, which popped out of place, causing me to almost fall down on my back, but my other hand kept clutching the stone tightly, i was already about fifteen meters up, and a drop on my back might've meant death.

I clinged onto the grass that was dangling from the edge, and pulled myself up to the soft ground. The chirping was back again, that time closer than ever. I looked back at the acacia that was standing tall in front of me, it´s branches spreading to different direction, creating a perfect home for the nest that was on it. That was my only chance to kill that bird, i knew some tricks on using the throwing knives, and i had some on my backpack.

I remember that when i was twelve i began practicing with different weapons other than the battle axe, one of those weapons was the throwing knife, which i had a great interest in back then, but i soon dropped it after almost a year, so i had a few tricks up my sleeve. I snatched one of the throwing knives from inside the bag, running my fingertips across the edges to determine if it was sharp enough. After creating a small cut on my thumb, i was sure that these were going to do the job correctly. I aimed at the bird, which was just standing on one of the branches, singing a sweet melody which i was about to end. My aim wasn't perfect the entire time, but i was almost certain that that one was going to hit. I tossed the knife with full force towards the bird, and in a matter of milliseconds, its neck was wide open, blood gushing from the wound, and the melody abruptly stopped. The corpse fell down from the tree, and hit the grass, almost getting entirely covered inside it, the knife was nowhere to be found though. I walked towards the area where it landed, and there it was, immobile, completely dead, thankfully. Before i was even able to grab the bird to skin it, a loud, almost deafening sound echoed about the wide lands. The canons, which marked the death of a tribute, were now being broadcasted upon us.

"Boom" another one straight after "boom, boom, boom, boom" i wanted it to stop, the sound was extremely eerie and strange when you were in the arena "boom, boom" it stopped, as if my wish was answered. Eight in total, eight were dead on the first day, which was a low number compared to other years. I remembered that a few years back, eighteen tributes died in the initial bloodbath, which was the highest number yet, not to mention that those games lasted three days, making it the shortest as well.

I stared into the distance, contemplating the beautiful sunset, it's purple and orange shades filled me with the same nostalgic feeling as Simon's eyes, his odd, metallic blue eyes. Something caught my attention, from the corner of my eye i was able to see movement beneath me, i crawled down into the dirt and peaked out into the distance, they were further away than i expected, the pair from six, that i was forced to be with in the elevator, were running across the savannah together, heading as far away as they could. For a moment i thought of trying my luck and throwing a knife down at them, but they were too far.

The only thing i did after was use my backpack as a pillow for my head, desperately trying to sleep, and after what seemed like hours of trying to fall unconscious, i was finally able to, the feeling of the soft grass helped a lot as well, and in a few moments, i was passed out.

_Carmen and i were sitting there, at the sidewalk, listening to the performer that was a few feet away from us, playing away at his accordion, his fingers looking as if they were floating above the keys. We kept swaying in place like trees in the gentle wind, for once i felt comfortable, surrounded strangers walking by, Carmen looked happy as well, singing along with the performer. But sadly, he didn't notice us, he was too focused on the amount of money that was being thrown into his hat._

_I started getting tired from all the sitting, so i tapped on Carmen's shoulder, and told her that it was getting late. She stood up, and we both walked across the dirt road towards our house, repeating the melody of the song. I immediately felt concerned once i noticed our front door wide open, and the TV turned on on full volume, but no one was sitting on the couch, the shelves and books knocked over, and all the doors of the closets ripped apart. Our entire house looked like a destroyed battlefield. I ran into the kitchen after hearing moans of agony. The kitchen's condition was nowhere different from the rest of the house._

_**My mother was hanging from a noose tied tightly around her neck…**_

_And my sister, Anna, was knocked out cold on the ground, her spine twisted in an unnatural angle, and blood running down her cheeks from her mouth, her moans becoming fainter and fainter. I glanced back at Carmen, who was next to me, unaware of the sight that was in front of her. The only thought that came to mind at that very moment, was to run to some peacekeepers and tell them about whatever happened to our home, but what good was that? They were going to laugh at me and push me around like a useless dog._

_I fell on my knees, unable to take in the scenery, i was helpless, useless in that situation, i wanted to curl up in a ball and scream, what was happening to me was unreal, i wanted to vanish, i wanted to cry, but no tears were coming out, and my mind was blank, there was nothing i could've done to save them, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing._

_**If only he was with me….**_

I was awakened by the sound of rustling leaves in the wind, it was pitch black, but the bright moon above us was immiting enough light to be able to see the landscape. But there was another source of light that felt unnatural, an artificial light from above the position of the moon. Faces, all i was able to see were faces. For a moment i panicked, trying to find the nearest place to hide, until i realized the Capitol was broadcasting the fallen tributes in the sky. I missed half of them, so there no way to tell if any of my allies were gone, my mind wasn't even clear enough to process the number of the districts, and i was almost about to fall unconscious again, until….

" We had the chance to kill her, right?"

"Shut up, she ran off, there was no way to catch up to her"

"But why send us? I was sleeping soundly until his ugly ass woke me up"

"I saw her running towards this area, she must be here, it will be a piece of cake"

Their voices sounded almost familiar, i sneakily peaked from beneath me, and almost jumped at the sight of the two careers on the ground under me, the girl from four, and the guy from two "listen, i'll get her on my own, you go back to the others" said the girl, were they talking about me? Were they hunting me down? That thought alone sent a chill down my spine.

There was only one of them after a while, the girl, walking straight towards the mountain i was on, she somehow guessed on which one i was on, and she was coming for me, she wanted me dead.


	4. plan B

I watched her carefully, scanning her every move as she climbed silently to where i was. There was no time to escape, it was either kill or be killed. Once she got closer, i noticed the giant sheath stuck to her back, filled with nothing but golden tridents. I had to act quickly, and the first thing that came to mind was to hide behind the bushes around the acacia, which were a convenient hiding spot. I dug myself between the leaves, and waited silently for her to arrive, but the twigs sticking into my skin distracted me slightly, letting me crouch in an awkward position.

She was there, a few meters away from me, searching the bushes nearby and examining the area. I readied my machete, and was ready to strike, until "i know you're there, ten" she said, smirking eerily "come out and fight me like the trained career that you are" i was trembling in fear, i kept debating whether or not to move, but i ended freezing in place, my instincts finally returned to me once i saw her aiming her trident towards the bush i was in, ready to lunge it into my head.

I jerked to the side, and the trident went flying to the distance, and before she was able to take out another one from her sheath, i jumped out and swung my machete towards her head, but she quickly blocked it with a slightly smaller spear that was around her hip. She was stocked with weapons, and she would've taken me down easily if it wasn't for my agility. She tried shoving the spear into my chest, but i spun sideways, almost like a dancer. Her head was exposed, and that was my only chance to kill her, but i was too distracted with targeting her head that i didn't notice her kicking my knee, knocking me to the ground. She aimed down her spear at me, and once she struck it down towards my head, i rolled sideways, letting the spear dig into the ground. Once she saw that her short ranged weapon was completely gone, she went in with some hand to hand combatting. I dodged and blocked every move, but she was strong, strong enough to almost throw me back after i tried blocking one of her hits. But for her final move, she did a spin kick, and my first instinct was to wrap my arm around her leg once it made contact with my torso. I was almost knocked down, but my grip on her leg was strong. The only thing left to do, was to quickly lift my right leg directly above her hip, and with a fast move from my leg, i broke her hip, and everything under it, causing her to collapse down to the ground, her blood curdling screams almost filling me with joy. She tried to crawl away, how pathetic. I grabbed her by the arm, and shoved my machete into her abdomen, whilst pulling her arm towards me, to make the wound deeper. "Your parents must be so embarrassed right now, after seeing you only made it one day" i said, twisting the machete around inside her. The look on her face wasn't of fear, but of pure disappointment in herself.

With one final struggle for survival, she went limp, she was gone for good. The canon fired, and that sound alone filled me with satisfaction and proudness. The sunlight broke through the horizon a few moments later, releasing it's strong glow across the arena. I kneeled down next the girl's body, my hands running frantically across the surface of the jacket, trying to find out if she had any supplies on her that i needed. There was small bump in one of her pockets, i unzipped it and took whatever was in there. A seashell, and inside it, was a phrase carved into it "please return home safely, we'll miss you, love -CJ"

My heart sank once i read the phrase, for some reason, i started feeling empathy towards the girl and her family, but she was the one who attacked me in the first place, it was her fault, and i didn´t have any other choice but to end her. I was almost able to picture that person crying their face off at the sight of their dead family member, or friend, or whatever the relation between them was. Before i left the area, i gently placed the seashell back into her pocket, and watched as the hovercraft carried her away, back to her home, to her family.

I carefully climbed down the mountain, trying not to misplace my grip, and i landed back on the ground safely. I scanned the vicinity once more, trying to figure out my next destination, and my eyes were caught by the sight of a distant forest land, completely yellow as well, like everything else. Without even thinking, a broke into a sprint, desperately wanting to reach the forest before anyone saw me. It was a better choice to crouch down and slowly make my way there, but i didn´t, i had to get there quickly.

It was the second day in the arena, and there were still plenty of us left, fifteen to be exact, so there was no doubt that i was going to run into someone on my way to the forest.

Before i entered into the area, i crawled down and started rolling my eyes around, inspecting my surroundings, trying to see if there was anyone around me, once i made sure there wasn´t i ran into the forest, as deep as my legs were able to take me, but i was too loud, the sound of leaves crunching under my feet were most likely giving my spot away, but i was confident enough that none of the careers were there, they were most probably back at the cornucopia guarding their supplies. If all of my other allies went with the plan, we might've been the ones still there, bathing in all the sweet supplies and weapons.

The sound of running water instantly grabbed my attention, i wasn't short on water, i had two whole bottles for myself, but there was no damage in learning the spot of the river just on case. I crawled through the bushes, using the trees as cover, and, after a few moments of searching, i found it, in all its, filled with crystal clear water. I walked slowly towards it, trying not to make any sound in the case of waking up a sleeping tribute nearby. Before i dug my hand into the water to take a sip, my mind started warning me that something was off, so to calm myself down, i grabbed a nearby stick, and dipped the tip under the surface of the water. The tip was completely gone, as if melted away by acid. I through the entire stick into the water, and it almost instantly dissolved, leaving no signs of its existence. _**Boom**_. a canon sounded out of nowhere, and i frantically started looking around, in hopes that someone fell into the river next to me, but there was no one. The thought of one of my comrades getting killed by one of the careers crossed my mind. But my train of thought was cut short after i heard a rustling in a nearby bush.

I turned around, only to find the guy from nine charging at me at full speed, and in his hand, he was clutching a battle axe, _my _battle axe. I wasn't in a good situation, that battle axe had the ability to break through the machete that i was holding, so the only choice that i had was to run off and find somewhere to hide, but the amount of trees was slowing me down, and i almost tripped on a root that was sticking out from the soil. Before i knew it, i was already out of the forest, but the only thing that served as an escape route was a long, rocky drop just at the edge of the forest. There was no other way to go. At first i started sliding down a few meters until i was completely in the air, falling down to the bottom. Once i hit land, i glanced above me, only to see the boy sliding down as well, he seemed almost terrified from the drop, which caused him to go slower, thus giving me more time to escape. Right around the corner, there was a small hole that i was able to squeeze myself into, but that only led to a tunnel that to hide myself in.

I heard the boy landing from outside the hole, which caused me to crawl even faster into the tunnel. His footsteps became more and more distant, and i was finally able to reach a more wide area. It was pitch black, i wasn't able to see a thing, but i felt movement from next to me, there was someone in there with me. All of a sudden, a bright, blinding light appeared from nowhere, i started hitting the air around me aimlessly, trying to get whoever was in that space with me "Maury?" it was a child's voice, a voice that i recognized. I rubbed my eyes violently, and refocused my vision, only to find Sammy, curled up in a ball in front of me, clutching a flashlight in his hand "oh my god, Sammy, you scared me" i said, sighing in relief "you scared me too, but are you okay?" he asked, which was surprising, i nodded my head without saying a word, and leaned against the dirt wall, trying to catch my breath, but at first it almost seemed futile.

"Did you see Bethany anywhere?" he asked, getting closer to me, awaiting an answer desperately, i looked at him confused "she's not with you?" i asked, my mind flashing back to the canon that heard when i was at the lake. "She was before, but she headed back to the cornucopia this morning" i froze, for a moment i thought that it must've been her, the one that died, but there was no way to tell before seeing it for ourselves at night "are the others alive?" i asked, hoping that he would say yes. He nodded his head, and i was completely relieved, accept for the chance that Bethany was dead. "Did you not see the broadcast last night?" he asked. He was right, there was a broadcast the night before that i completely missed.

"And wasn't Naya supposed to be with you too?" i asked, remembering her volunteering to protect him "yeah, but we got separated by the careers" he replied, leaning his head against the wall. A side of me was surprised that Sammy survived the previous day, since he was the youngest in the arena, but another thanked Naya for being with him in those first moments, even if it wasn't for that long "did you kill anyone?" he asked, terror filling in his eyes, which made me hesitate for a moment "two people" i said faintly, hoping that he didn't hear me. He looked surprised, but the expression washed away as soon as i told him that one of them was a career, turning into a look of happiness "i think Simon killed someone too" he responded, a small smile forming on his face "really? Who?" i asked, hoping that, with a small chance it would be someone dangerous "I'm not sure, i just saw him shooting an arrow at someone yesterday", so he did get his weapon, and Ray as well got his combat axe and Arora with the blow darts, but i didn't remember what Naya used, she was most likely skilled at survival overall, and if Bethany got her knives then it would've been all the better.

All of a sudden, there was a sound of tumbling rocks coming from the outside. I readied my machete in case that boy was returning, but after a few seconds of waiting, there was nothing, no one, and nothing. "I'm going out to check, okay?" i said to Sammy, he nodded his head. I squeezed my way into the exit, and crawled my way out. For the most part, i was expecting a soft breeze to run against my skin, but instead, i was greeted with a strong, unbearable heat.

There was no one lurking in the premises, not even a sign of that boy from earlier, it was just the strong, suffocating heat, and some small rocks that fell from above the cliff on their own. I stepped deeper into the open, just to make sure that there was no one there, until i saw a moving figure in the distance, a person, running to our direction. The sunlight that was being sent straight into my eyes didn't let me see who it was, but the person was waving at me, Bethany. "Oh my god, i was afraid you'd be dead!" i said, as i got closer to her "no I'm fine, and that canon wasn't from any of our allies either" she replied, "you're with Sammy, right?" i nodded my head as i walked back to the hole. We snuck back into the hole, and once we were in, Sammy lunged his entire body on Bethany, hugging her tightly.

The three of us sat down in silence, until Bethany finally decided to speak "i wasn't able to get anything from the cornucopia, the careers were there" just as i had expected, if they were there, it meant that they were never going to leave the area completely "but the boy from six died, what a fucking idiot" she said, looking almost disappointed in his actions, whatever he did "he just ran into the mouth and the guy from one stabbed him in the head" it was safe to say that he was out of his mind, but i saw him the day prior, running across the open field with his ally.

The sun was setting, and the only other thing that we spoke about was more about Bethany's family, what her father worked, what her mother did, and what she liked to do in her free time, i didn't want to say anything about my own life, it felt almost too exhausting to talk about, i didn't want to bring back horrible memories anyway. But she asked me after all "you didn't tell me a lot about yourself, did you?" she looked at me as she skinned a small hare in her hand with one of her knives "i don't like going too deep into it" i replied, looking down at the machete that was laying on my lap, it's blade letting out a small shimmer "too...disturbing?" she asked, that time staring into my eyes, i nodded my head silently, and she nodded back, resuming her work on the hare.

Sky pitch black, and stars glowing faintly in the distant forcefield, the three of us were ready to set off to dreamland, until a strange glow started leaking it's rays into our shelter. I looked out slightly, only to find out that they were broadcasting the fallen already, but it was only one that died that day anyway, and only his face was shown, before the entire arena fell dark once again.

"Tomorrow we're setting off to the edge of the arena" said Bethany, laying on her back, using her ski jacket as a blanket. I stared at her, confusion washing over my face "what do you mean?" i asked, leaning my head back against my backpack "maybe if we found the edge of the forcefield, and used it as a weapon, like that one time" she replied, staring blankly into the ceiling. The memories came flooding back to me, the ones from more than a decade ago, the 50th hunger games, or the second quarter quell, where the boy from twelve used the forcefield as a weapon against the girl from one, deflecting her axe so it would strike her instead "but that's risky, the Gamemakers would want to turn us back, won't they?" i asked, waiting to hear her reply "or maybe they would force the others towards us" she replied, i wasn't able to understand the answer at first, but slowly the information became clearer "the Gamemakers don't know that the seven of us are allies, so they will drag us together thinking that we would fight" she said, as if reading my mind. That plan seemed stable enough, but what if they did it the other way around? What of they used some sort of disaster for the three of us to run unto the careers? Anxiety hit me once those thoughts came up, but i wasn't going to abandon that plan easily, we already screwed up on the first one after all.

After another few minutes of staying awake in pure silence, i decided to sleep on my own, we didn't need anyone to take shifts as we were inside a hole that wasn't wide enough for anyone. For a moment i wasn't able to fight the exhaustion, so i gave in, and quickly enough, i was asleep, not the most comfortable position, but i somehow managed to drift into the darkness and relax.

_I walked up to him after listening to his sweet melody that he was humming. I sat next to him, and stared mezmerised into his eyes as he smiled back at me, not stopping the singing, after a few moments, a started singing along, still learning the rhythm, but i caught on quickly._

_After a few other moments of singing, he stopped, and with a small tremble in his voice, he said "my mom used to sing this to me" the thought came back to me, his mom wasn't with him, she was somewhere better than here, but i didn't know where, so i asked out of the blue "- do you know where your mom went, that better place?" he shook his head, saying no "but i do want to see her there someday, when i grow up" he replied, wiping the hair that was covering his forehead "i wanna come with you too" i said hoping that he would agree "yeah, that sounds cool, she'll get to meet you" he responded, smiling widely. Out of nowhere, he started whispering some words that i wasn't able to clearly understand at first "...go with Marius, he'll take care of you" he paused, and i stared at him waiting for him to say something else "that's the last thing my mom told me before going away"._

_**Marius….Marius Willows…**_


End file.
